Hayward receives a ‘West willie’ during Utah’s win

Maybe it was the release of the recent “The Three Stooges” film, but Dallas guard Dalonte West looked like he had picked up some inspiration from the movie after his reaction to Utah guard Gordon Hayward during Utah’s wild triple-overtime victory over the Mavericks Monday night.

After West fouled Hayward while defending him late in the second quarter, he was whistled for a technical foul for sticking his finger in Hayward’s ear.

It wasn’t one of West’s shining professional moments. But it’s interesting to listen to the Utah game broadcasters on the ROOT Network as they described the incident, as they stopped just short of calling for vigilante justice on the play.

C’mon guys, it was just a “West Willie.” Both players were chuckling about it afterwards.

Most amazingly, none of the game officials originally saw the incident, but the Utah crowd did. As is typical at the Energy Solutions Arena, the crowd went beserk. The referees then watched the play on the video screen, saw West’s action and whistled him for a technical foul.

West claimed to ESPN Dallas that the incident was nothing more than a heat-of-the-moment incident.

“We’re just two warriors, man, we’re out there battling on the battlefield,” West said. “I forgot, the NBA is a gentleman’s game so we’ve got to fight and scrap and do it nicely. Everything is left on the court, though. That’s what it is.”